Mistaken Identities
by Raevyan
Summary: Complete. Early Buffy episode set in Spooksville. Full summery at beginning of 1st chap. WARNING: contains torture. If you don't like DON'T read: appears in chapter 5. Rated for voilence. RECENTLY IMPROVED: JAN07
1. Rising Power, Lack of Evil & Doughnuts

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Spooksville or Buffy or any other wee mad things I might have lifted to put in this story. I do however own Star. I have tried to stay in character with everyone, but I had intentionally changed Watch's character.

So basically what I've done is take an episode of Buffy and changed it to apply to Spooksville. The episode was 'Dopplegangland' from the third season I think. In it Willow's evil vampire counterpart ends up in Sunnydale by a spell gone wrong. Only here, Watch has been replaced by Willow, and the Sunnydale troups have been replaced with our favourite gang. The story is self-explanitory, so you don't need to have seen the episode for it to make sense. And a lot of it, and I mean a lot of it, isn't in the original Buffy episode, but simply a result of my little mind gone wild...

I probably added some stuff from Angel episodes and various other things, and I don't own ANY of them. Anyhoo, enjoy :)

_One_

No one in the gang knew about the other dimension.

Well, they knew there were other dimensions of Spooksville – they had learned this long ago – but they did not know of the particular hellish dimension they had lived in once. When Sally had made the mistake of wishing Adam had never came to Spooksville.

Now, usually no one would have to tell Sally twice to be careful what she wished for – she had lived in Spooksville her whole life, but nothing can get through to an emotional, heartbroken teenage girl…and how could she have known she just happened to tell the wish to a vengeance demon?

Anyanka granted the wish.

They were then wished in a hellish dimension where almost all the gang had been turned to Vampires or killed. After the wish was made, only Sally knew what the world was supposed to be like, but she too was killed. Then it was up to the remainders of the gang – basically Bryce and a few others from school – to get in touch with Adam and bring him to help. Of course, none of them even knew Adam; they were just going by what Sally had said, because they were so desperate to be rid of their terrible world. They did not get hold of Adam. But instead, the Sunnydale gang turned up to help them – to help them destroy Anyanka's power centre, ridding her of her powers, and therefore making sure that Sally's wish was never granted…

All was restored in Spooksville and things were as normal as they ever were, and no one, not even Sally, ever knew what had taken place. The only one who knew was a bitter and now mortal Anyaka…who was now willing to do everything she could to get her power centre back – her necklace.

It was a bright and sunny – although slightly chilly – autumn morning in Spooksville. Red and gold leaves littered the grounds and swept back and forth by a temperamental wind. As always the air was filled with a deep sensation of mystical energy – something that would go by unnoticed by most of the residents of the small ocean side town of Springville. But for those who lived in the real world – the ones who lived in Spooksville and knew and was willing to face the horrors the town brought at anytime of the day or day – it was unusually high, and the gang in particular felt this and knew something big was coming.

Right now they were gathered inside the only decent bakery in town, having breakfast together and idle small chat. One might almost believe to look at them that they were a normal group of teenagers aged 15 –16, sitting in a normal bakery in a normal town. One would only have to listen to their conversation to know how wrong they were.

"I don't think a Klum-Klux demon is the same origin as the Kaliff," said Sally Wilcox determinedly, while blowing cautiously on a steaming mug of coffee, her addiction, and it suited her very well. She had long brown hair which she had down past her shoulders and intense hazel eyes to match. Sally was an assertive person with a sense of humour that you really had to be in the mood for. Although she had often got them into trouble and lead them into many of their more dangerous adventures, she had saved their lived just as many times. She was wearing long black trousers with a sleeveless red top and a long zipped up jacket.

"I'm gonna have to go with Sally on this one," said Bryce Poole, almost hesitantly. "Although there are some aspects of the Kaliff's features to assume it is from the same family tree as the Kli-Klux, there are no other aspects of it's personality or living and eating habits to connect it to them." Bryce was picking at a chocolate doughnut distractedly. He was a tall and well-muscled young man, with strong and well-defined face that most people would warm to straight away. He had a history of taking himself too seriously – and everyone else around him, even when living in Spooksville, it is important not to take life too seriously or it just might kill you. Literally. He was wearing blue jeans and a bright blue T-shirt.

"But most of the time, in demon culture, those things don't matter as much as physical appearance." Countered Star, neither agreeing or disagreeing with anyone and sipping a hot chocolate. She was had tanned skin, with dark brown hair and eyes to match. She was a practicing witch and had been so for a few years now, since she was 13 actually, and had found herself to be a very powerful Wicca. She loved Watch madly, and had waited patiently for the day that he would love her in return, which came when they were fourteen. He had kissed her and she hadn't let go of him since.

Cindy Makey shook her head suddenly. "We're discussing demon's feeding habits…" she shook her head again and went back to her jelly doughnut. Cindy hadn't lived in Spooksville as long as most of the others, but had lived there enough years to know how to handle herself in a crisis. She was probably the sweetest of the group. Only when fighting with Sally did she become a force to be reckoned with. She had long blonde hair and grey eyes and a heart-shaped face. She was wearing pink pedal pushers with trainers and a yellow jumper and a pink and yellow hat.

"This surprises you with these guys?" asked Adam Freeman with a smile. Adam had not lived in Spooksville as long as most of the others either, but he was the leader of the group. When push came to shove, he was usually the one who decided what to do. He was shorter than the others. He was very brave and sometimes his kind heart got them into trouble. He had short light brown hair and eyes to match. He was tanned with freckles, and cute features. He was wearing light brown trousers and a green T-shirt.

Cindy smiled back at him. "No I guess it shouldn't."

"Oh, quite your flirting you two, you're making me nauseous." Sally said lightly, sipping at her coffee.

Adam and Cindy glared at her but she just smiled sweetly at them.

"Seriously though," she said eventually. "Spooksville's been way too quite recently. Nothing's invaded, stolen, kidnapped or killed in weeks."

"Yeah, and I know I'm disappointed." Cindy said, making a face.

Sally stared hard at her. "You should be. This can't be good. It can only mean that something's coming. Something big." She paused and picked up her coffee. "Either that or Watch's vision thingy's broken."

Watch looked at her and raised an eyebrow. He had been staring out the window only half paying attention to the conversation, but had started listening at Sally's mention of a growing evil. He had felt it too. He had been feeling it for a few weeks now, but hadn't said anything because he didn't think it meant anything. Yet.

Watch was probably the most intelligent of the group. More a than a few times he had astounded them with his profound insights, not to mention acting abilities. His quick thinking had saved their lives many times. Yet he was also rather secretive – despite being his closest friends for over four years, Watch's history was still a mystery to them. Watch was, by nature, soft spoken and secretive, and didn't really speak unless he thought it was worth saying. He was notably handsome, with eyes such a deep and yet bright shade of green that they didn't seem real. His skin was naturally pale, and he never tanned, and his hair was jet black and always messy. His face held many scars, mainly from his childhood, but some he had acquired from their years of adventure in Spooksville. He was wearing black jeans and a loose black jumper. He spoke to Sally in his profound Irish accent, straight from the heart of Dublin and as strong as it was the day he moved to Spooksville, almost 9 years ago.

"There's nothin' wrong with me." He said mildly. "I don't actually control the visions that rip my head apart from the inside. If I did I'd cancel the subscription, I assure you…"

"Yeah, well, I wish you would get one!" Sally said. "I'm so bored."

Watch stared at her. "You're gonna regret that if I have one."

Sally shrugged. "Probably."

Adam suddenly looked at his watch. "Oh, man! We're gonna be late for school."

Sally checked her own and winced. "Damn, you're right." With a sigh she drained her coffee and stood up with the others and gathered their stuff.

As they stepped outside the bakery into the bright morning, they each felt the strong waves of spiritual energy wash over them. It was a feeling they had each come to associate with the 'spookiness' that pulsed through their seaside town. Very few recognised it for what it was, blaming their sudden chills on a phantom breeze. But the gang had been no ordinary kids, and they were now no ordinary teenagers. And they each got a distinct feeling that something very big was coming.

They shared anxious looks before hurrying to school.

----------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Of Nerds And Prats

_Two_

At lunch the gang met at their usual table, at the far end of the gym, where they could oversee everything. At the moment it was only Adam, Cindy, Sally and Star that were there. Bryce and Watch had not turned up yet. They didn't read much into their friends' absence. Watch was usually late, and Bryce was probably preoccupied with some girl.

Adam noticed Cindy was looking a little redder in the face than usual and she seemed to smiling absently at nothing in particular as she picked at her salad. Apparently Star had noticed too, as suddenly she turned to Cindy.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked, looking slightly amused.

Cindy went, if it was possible, even redder. "Nothing."

Star smiled knowingly, but said nothing because Sally suddenly started laughing. "Austin Brown asked her out."

Cindy was as red as the tomatoes in her salad, but she was smiling.

Star was smiling too. "Did he? Isn't he that guy in my year? The one you were telling me about?"

Cindy kept her head down as she giggled. "Maybe."

Adam said suddenly. "I don't like him."

Star and Sally exchanged withering glances and rolled their eyes.

"Of course you don't." Sally said as Cindy's head snapped up.

"What's wrong with him?" she demanded.

Adam leaned back in his chair. "Well nothing if you're into nerds."

"He's not a nerd!" Cindy protested, her face now only a shade of pink. "He's just smart."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. Who do you know who's smart who's not a nerd?"

"Hey!" Star said, pretending to look angry. "My boyfriend for one!"

"Yeah. Also known as your best friend, Watch." Sally said, looking very amused. "Wait till I tell him."

"Tell me what?" said an Irish accent. Had crept up them and was standing behind Star, a smile playing at his lips as though he had been listening to the whole conversation. He probably had. They had no idea how he managed to sneak up on them, considering from their table they could see the only two entrances to the café. But he always seemed to be able to do it. . .they gave up trying to figure him out.

"Adam thinks you're a nerd." Sally said while Watch took a seat beside Star and she slipped her hand into his.

"That's not what I said!" Adam protested.

"Yeah, well he implied it." said Sally.

Watch raised his eyebrows, still looking very close to laughing. "Yeah, I'm sure." He suddenly turned to Cindy. "So I hear you got asked out by Austin Brown?"

Cindy started to go red again and Adam muttered. "Good news travels fast."

Cindy shot him a glare.

"Yeah, it does when he's shouting about it around the halls." Watch said, sounding concerned, still looking at Cindy. "Cindy, don't go out with him."

"Ha!" Adam said triumphantly. "See? Watch doesn't like him either. Tell her Watch."

"That's not true." Cindy said quickly, looking at Watch imploringly.

"Afraid it is Cindy." Watch said softly. "Listen to me, the guy's a prat. He's got a reputation, and if you get involved with him you'll get one too. And trust me, Cindy, you don't want a reputation in this place."

Watch and Star and Bryce had all came to high school a year before the others because they were all a year older.

At that moment they saw Bryce come into the café through the main door, high-fiving people and shouting comments to them as he went.

Sally rolled her eyes. "He's sooo popular." She said sarcastically.

He reached their table and sat down between Watch and Cindy. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Watch is a nerd and Cindy's going out with a prat." Sally said instantly.

Bryce smirked and glanced at Watch. "Tell me something I don't know."

Watch pushed him with his left hand, and Bryce pushed him back. But it was all in fun, which was a relief to the others because Watch and Bryce had a history or not getting along great. But they both claimed it was behind them, and they both did seem to be getting along better. Nowadays they loved to wind each other up, but you could see a bond there that they had not shared before.

Bryce turned to Cindy. "Who are you going with that's a prat?"

Cindy sighed. "I've not even gone out with him yet, and everyone seems to be against it."

"It's Austin Brown." Watch said to Bryce and they exchanged knowing looks.

Bryce shook his head. "You don't wanna go out with him, Cindy."

Cindy rolled her eyes, beginning to look annoyed. "I'm so glad I have friends to tell me what I want."

"It's not like that Cindy." Watch said. "You don't know this guy."

"Watch is right." said Bryce. "He's an idiot. The worst kind, a smart idiot. Sneaky. He's always bragging about how many girls he's had…if you know what I mean, I mean he shouts about it in PE, and he doesn't care who hears him. Any girl that goes out with him gets the worst kind of reputation you could get at this school."

"Listen to the man, Cindy." Sally said. "He knows all about reputations."

Bryce glared at her and Sally smiled and winked back.

It was then that Star caught sight of one of Watch's watches. "Oh, hey guys, I gotta go. I've got something I need to do for Music. I probably won't be back before lunch, I'll see you after school."

They all made gagging noises as she and Watch kissed.

"Shut up!" they said in unison, but they were smiling. Watch and Star had been kissing since they were quite young and the others were younger and back then they really did think it was gross. Now as teenagers they just couldn't resist annoying them at every opportunity.

Star left and they settled down to eat their lunch.

----------------------------------------------------------

As Star was coming out of the music room, she heard someone call her name.

"Star?"

She turned to find a girl older than her looking at her. She recognised her vaguely. "Yeah?"

The girl gestured to herself when she realise Star didn't know her. "Anya." She said. "I'm new, I know Sally?"

"Oh right," Star smiled. "What's up?"

"Oh, it's nothing really…I just have a little project going and I was wondering if you could help me?"

Star was confused to say the least. This Anya had to be at least 18, what could she need her for? She was used to people asking Watch for help, but not her. Unless it was music. "Uh…yeah, sure, I mean, I guess…what it is you need help with?"

"Not much," she said vaguely as she leaned closer. "It's just a little _spell_ I'm working on."

"Oh." Star said, brightening. Well that explains that. "Depends on the kind of spell you're doing, but yeah, I'll help. What do you need?"

"Well, I need another person to help with the temporal fold, and I heard you a pretty powerful Wicca so…" She trailed off.

Star was smiling. "Yeah, sure. I guess you kinda heard right."

"Great!" smiled Anya. "So when's your next free period?"

"Sixth." Star answered. "I usually just go home, but I'll be happy to hang around."

"No good. Mine is fifth. I really need to do it today. . ." she sighed. "It's no problem, I can get away if you don't mind spending an extra half hour or so here." She glanced around. "So how about we meet in Mr Herbin's class? It'll be empty, and it's got the right stuff."

"No problem." Star replied. The bell rang to initiate fifth period and they separated. Afterwards, Star never really gave that much thought to it. Once or twice before people had asked her about help with spells. She wasn't all that surprised it had got around.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

At sixth period Star told Watch she had some business to take care of and left him with Bryce and a group of other friends as she made her way to the science class. She found Anya already there with most of the stuff set up.

She sat down and helped her with the stuff.

"The necklace was a family heirloom, but it was stolen from my mum's apartment." Explained Anya.

"So how does this spell work?" asked Star as she set up the herbs.

"Well," said Anya. "We both call upon the Goddess Ashantra. And then I pour the sand over the impression of the object, then there's a _tiny_ temporal fold. . . I hope, and Ashantra brings it forth from the time and place it was lost."

Star nodded. "OK, cool."

They sat opposite each other in the traditional stance and began to call upon Ashantra.

Star closed her eyes and concentrated and soon she felt the familiar power surge up within her and eventually expel itself outwards creating the circle, in which she and Anya were inside.

Up till that point things were very familiar. Until things started to change. She felt an unpleasant surge in her stomach and she began to see flashing images in her minds' eye. Even this was pretty normal for the temporal fold, but it was different.

She saw herself…and Watch. They were inside an old factory, down at the edge of town. And they were fighting with Bryce? Really fighting…fighting to _kill_. . .then Bryce and someone else held Watch as Buffy staked him. And he turned to dust in a second…he was a Vampire??? Then she saw Bryce go for her, who had transformed as well, _she_ was a Vampire?? What was this??

But she didn't see anymore. She felt Anya's hand on hers, trying to urge it to let the sand fall, but she wasn't concentrating and Anya had to force her to do it.

Then it was over. Star sat in shock for a few seconds, then jumped up as Anya examined where the sand had landed. "What was that?" Star demanded.

"Damnit! It's not here." Anya was muttering. She was running her hands all along the floor between them, her eyes scanning.

"That wasn't just some temporal fold…" Star whispered, shaking her head. "That was some kind of hell place. That was a little blacker than I like my arts."

"Don't be such a wimp." Snapped Anya.

Star's heart was pounding and her hands were trembling. "I don't think you're telling me everything." She accused.

Anya looked up at her. "I swear, I'm only trying to get my necklace back."

"Well, did you try looking inside the sofa in hell?" Star yelled, feeling upset after having seen Watch murdered, and by Bryce no less, only a few seconds ago.

Anya looked livid. She seemed about to scream at Star, maybe even attack her but she very quickly checked herself and spoke in a reasonable voice. "Look, we'll just try again." Anya said.

"No way." Star said flatly. "I'm not doing that again. I'm sorry. You'll just have to find someone else to help you."

"I can't do this by myself!" Anya roared at her.

"That's a relief." Star said coldly as she turned and walked out the classroom, not once looking back.

Just as Star was slamming the door of the classroom shut as she headed off to find Watch, there was a disturbance down town. Down at the very edge of town.

In an old abandoned factory to be exact.

A figure was lying on the floor, on his back, but was getting up slowly. Looking around him as he stood up, his green eyes narrowed with suspicion and his movements were as agile as a cat, more so even. His black hair was long and a little messy, and the ends were tipped with blue die. He let out a low growl and he spoke in an Irish accent.

"This is weird."


	3. Stranger

_Three_

"So, are we going out tonight?" Sally asked as they walked out of school as a group.

Cindy shrugged. "What else is there to do in this town?"

"Well we could patrol the graveyard." Bryce said, rolling his eyes. "That always makes for a good night out."

"So I take it we're going to the Cathouse tonight then?" Sally asked.

"Why not?" Adam asked.

"Yeah sure." Cindy muttered. She was kind of depressed ever since her friends had practically made her cancel her date with Austin Brown. She figured they probably knew what they were talking about but she was still upset about it, though Adam seemed a lot happier.

Sally put her arm around her. "Come on, there are plenty of fish in the sea, and all that jazz. We'll all go tonight. We'll find you someone."

"Oh, you know what, I cant." Watch said suddenly.

"Oh, yeah, thanks for the faith, Watch." Cindy muttered.

"What? Why not?" Star asked. She was grasping his hand tightly and had hardly let go of him since she met him after her little spell with Anya. She hadn't mentioned that to anyone and didn't really plan to, but it had put her a little on edge. Watch had noticed but didn't say anything after she told him vehemently that nothing was wrong.

"I have too much homework. I've got tonnes of studying to get through this week." He said. this was true. He had taken a lot of subjects and was coping pretty well, but he was usually on his toes keeping up, which was fine with him, but Sally scowled at him.

"Oh, come on…you're smart, you don't need to study." She said.

Watch raised an eyebrow at her. "Irresponsible much, Sal?."

Sally knew as soon as he said he couldn't go that no one would be able to convince him. No one really could when he had made up his mind, so they gave up, and left him alone, although Star seemed uneasy about it…

That night the rest of them went to the Cathouse. Sally, Star and Cindy went a little earlier to scope for any decent looking guys, but there weren't really that many. Actually, Bryce and Watch were probably the best looking guys in town, and Watch was taken, and Bryce went through girls faster than shirts. Adam and Bryce turned up an hour or so later. By that time it was pitch black outside, although it was early.

They were playing pool when they saw a tall dark figure walk into the club. They recognised him, but their brains wouldn't register who he was right away. They all did a double take as they looked at Watch, who, for his part, pretty much ignored them. They all stared open-mouthed at him.

Their friend looked different…he looked great. The first thing they noticed was that he didn't have his glasses on. Without them his face seemed so different, he almost wasn't Watch at all, but someone else entirely, someone older and tougher. His green eyes shone out of his face, and he seemed even paler than normal – his skin could have been white marble. His dark hair was not as messy as it usually was, but still fell into his eyes and actually looked a little bit longer.

He was not dressed normally. He was wearing all black, which wasn't that different, but the style of clothes were entirely unlike their shy friend. He was wearing black jeans, but they were much tighter than he would usually wear and they clung to his slender body. He was wearing a black T-shirt that was almost skin tight, that exaggerated his figure, with a black leather jacket over it. None of them had ever seen Watch wear leather in his life, and they had no idea where he had got it, or indeed the money for it, but there was no denying the overall effect. He looked deeply attractive. But it was more than the clothes…

He held himself different. His back was straight, his shoulders squared, but his head was lowered slightly.

He walked slowly, like a predictor. He drew in a great deal of looks from girls which he ignored, and jealous stares from guys, which he pretty much obliviated with a glance. His face was set in a kind of guarded, alert stance, yet laid back at the same time. He didn't look very happy.

His friends exchanged worried looks and started to follow him. But Star told them to let her handle it before they came over.

She hurried over to the direction where Watch was staring around the Cathouse as though he had never seen it before.

She grabbed his arm from behind and he whirled as though ready for attack, but then saw who it was and stopped.

"Watch? What are you doing?" Star asked him, utterly confused, not sure what else to say.

Watch was looking at her oddly. Half surprised, half happy. Well, maybe happy was too strong a word, because it was a twisted kind of happy. There was also a weird sort of lust in his eyes as he stared at her, something she had never seen in his normal gentlemanly respect for her. "Star." He whispered.

For some reason his voice made her shiver. It was so cold. So inhuman…

He reached forward and embraced her.

Star was shocked for a few seconds then hugged him back, though still confused. He felt…wrong. "You're alive." He muttered.

"Uh…yeah. How 'bout that." She said, growing uneasy, as he was touching her, which she normally wouldn't mind, but not in public. Now she knew something was wrong; Watch was usually shy, he wasn't really one for big public displays of affection. As his hands travelled lower, she jumped back just slightly. "Wow! Hands!"

He was examining her through cold eyes, no longer smiling. He let go of her. "You're alive." He said flatly, yet this time there was no joy in his voice. Almost as if he wasn't pleased about it.

"Yeah…we established that." She said warily.

Watch was still staring at her so strangely. Star wondered how he could even see without his glasses. But just then she heard people step behind her and turned to see her friends. She was going to warn them not to say anything…_rash_. Then she stopped herself, what was she doing? This was Watch, _her_ Watch…She didn't know why but she was feeling unnaturally fearful of him. She had never felt that with him before, and she didn't like it. The urge to warn her friends was very powerful, she knew she had to say something…_anything_…But she never got the chance.

"What the hell is up with your clothes Watch?" asked Sally in her usual bluntness that made Star hold her breath. But Watch just stared at her. His eyes narrowed slightly, but enough to make him look terrifying. Even Sally seemed to back off slightly. "Not that it doesn't look good, I mean, it looks and all, it's just so different, and unlike you, I mean, not that it's unlike you to look good…and I'm just going to shut up."

"That would be a miracle." Bryce muttered and Sally hit him.

"White hat." Watch suddenly growled.

Sally did not understand. "What?"

"What's a white hat?" Bryce asked her.

Watch turned his attention on Bryce and his eyes seemed to flash with hatred. Not even years ago had he ever shown so much hatred for Bryce, and it was chilling.

"What?" Bryce asked as Watch continued to stare at him. Bryce didn't sound scared, just a little uneasy.

Watch cocked his head slightly to one side. "I don't like you." He said finally. He let go of Star roughly, throwing her away from him, and turned away. Star stumbled and caught her balance, and her hand rubbed her bruised arm.

"Wait!" Adam yelled, stepping past the shocked Star, who had never had Watch be so violent towards her. Watch turned to face him, looking thoroughly bored. "What's wrong with you, Watch? Why are you acting like this? We're your friends."

Watch raised an eyebrow and turned once again and began walking away, but Adam grabbed his arm from behind.

Watch whirled around. Yet it was not the face of his old friend that Adam saw…it was a face of twisted features, blood red eyes, and very sharp, very large fangs. "Leave me alone." He growled and snatched his arm free. The transformation had only lasted a few seconds, but the image was imprinted in all their minds and they had no doubt about what they had seen. By the time he had turned around he was back to normal.

Yet he wasn't normal, not at all. The gang stood in stunned silence, a heavy grief hanging over them.

Their friend was dead. He was a Vampire.


	4. Silent Night

Disclaimer: I don't own Spooksville, Buffy, Angel, or anything else I might have sniped for this fic. I only own my own imagination, and I even seem to be lacking in that recently...so please excuse the shittiness of this chap. At least it's longer. I think. I hope. Gah well...enjoy.

**Chapter 4**

**Silent Night**

The gang left the Cathouse in silence. They all knew where they were going – to the town library. It would probably be closed – but they knew Bum would let them in. Ever since he had become librarian he had given them special privileges when it came to the Library. And they knew he was very fond of Watch. They didn't want to accept it, but they knew that they had to tell Bum before they did anything. Before they…

Star had to be half carried by Bryce and Adam. Her legs hardly worked, and she seemed to be in too much shock to even cry yet. She could have sworn her heart had stopped beating completely. Though each one of them felt their own hearts cracking at the loss of Watch, they couldn't help but worry about her. She had loved him the most. And if it came to it…they knew she would still fight for his life. Or lack thereof. But they would jump off that bridge when it came to it…

Bum took the news as he would any news, but maybe a little worse.

He had opened the library cheerily after they had rapped for almost ten minutes. When he saw the look on their faces he knew something terrible had happened. And when he found out what had happened to their friend he sighed deeply and sat down on the stairs that led up to the top floor of the large building.

They joined him as they each sat on the steps. Star had been guided down by both Bryce and Adam, for after they had told Bum what they had seen, she had collapsed completely on them. Her body had given up and now she lay on the stairs staring at the ceiling. The others left her alone for now. They knew they had to work through the grief first before they could help her properly. Yet they were each having a hard time really believing it. They simply couldn't imagine their lives without Watch.

"I don't believe this happened." Adam muttered, his head resting in his hands.

"_When_ did it happen?" Cindy asked, her face stained with tears.

"Well, we saw him at school today, and the sun was out, and he wasn't acting so weird…so it must have been sometime tonight." Said Bryce, deadpan. His face betrayed him though, as his features were torn with pain.

Adam sighed. "He was the best of all of us." He said gruffly.

Cindy nodded miserably. "Way better than me."

Sally nodded. "Much, much better."

Cindy had no time to feel insulted because at that moment Watch opened the huge heavy doors to the library and stepped in, looking surprised when he saw them.

Yet it was not the Watch they had seen less than an hour ago. This was not the demonic face they had come face to face with in the Cathouse. He was…normal. Or as normal as Watch had ever been. He was dressed as he ever was in black jeans and a long sweatshirt. No leather, no chains, no skin tight T-shirts. He had his glasses on and he didn't look at them with hatred as he had before. His eyes were filled with only confusion. Plus, he looked…well, alive.

But that was impossible.

Upon seeing their faces, and sensing their held breath he raised his eyebrows. "Who died?" he asked jokingly.

They continued staring at him, looks of disbelief on their faces.

Watch suddenly looked serious, as if he just realised where they lived. "Oh God, who died?"

Bryce suddenly jumped up and grabbed a cross from the librarian's desk. "Back, demon!" he yelled, holding the cross close to Watch's face. Watch looked at him with mild surprise, almost as if it was normal for his friend to be assaulting him with holy objects. Bryce stood there for a few seconds, keeping the cross held in front of Watch's face, waiting for a reaction, and Watch just stared at him, looking worried for his sanity more than anything. Watch raised his eyebrows. Bryce waited a few seconds more before lowering the cross. "Oh."

But before either of the boys could say anything else, Star was beside Bryce, and staring at Watch. "You're alive?" she whispered.

Watch was looking very confused. "Aren't I usually?"

Star moved closer to him warily, staring at his eyes deeply for several breathless seconds…and then flung her arms around him. Watch looked shocked by this sudden attack but didn't say anything as Star clung to his neck and sobbed quietly into his chest. Watch's eyes widened.

"What the - " he started.

But he never finished because each of his friends had thrown themselves on him, pretty much smothering him. Watch could just be heard under them.

"Uh…I love you guys too." A few seconds went by and none of them showed any signs of moving. "OK, oxygen becoming an issue. . ."

They all released him and then continued staring at him happily. Star still had tears in her eyes. Watch gasped for breath and spotted Bum standing behind his friends. "Bum, what's up with these - ?" but once again never got to finish because Bum had thrown himself on him and was hugging him. Watch had to pry him away after he could no longer breath.

He held his arms out as if to stop any further hugs as he caught his breath. "OK, will _someone_ tell me what's going on?" he gasped. He squinted at them as he straightened up cautiously. "You guys didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs, did ya?"

The others shared strange looks – strange to Watch – as thought privately struggling with how they should explain their strange behaviour.

"We saw you." Bryce started to explain, still staring at him. "Earlier, in the Cathouse. You were…you were not yourself."

"You were dead, Watch." Star said in barely a whisper, as though the words wounded her.

"Dead?" Watch repeated, frowning.

"A Vampire." Cindy said faintly. "We saw you…you spoke to us."

"Kinda." Sally muttered.

"I did?" Watch asked. He frowned and shook his head. "I mean, no I didn't. It wasn't me…I've been home all night and as far as I know, I'm…alive. And, you know, _not_ the walking undead. I only came here for a book I left."

There was a pause in which they all looked at each other in confusion. They knew what they had seen had been all too real.

"Bum, feel like jumping in with an explanation any time soon?" Bryce asked finally.

"Well," Bum said slowly. "From what I've heard…I think…something very strange is happening."

There was a second of silence.

"Well, I'm certainly glad we cleared that one up." Sally said.

Meanwhile, the other Watch was leaving the Cathouse, probably more confused that when he entered. Why were things so different here? Where the hell was he? He didn't belong here. Before he could get much further, he heard someone shout to him.

"Watch!" it was a girl.

Watch turned and looked at her. "Do I know you?" he asked mildly.

"No," she said. "But I know who you are."

"Do you, now?" Watch said. Inside he was wondering when he should attack her. He was getting pretty hungry.

"Yeah, I do. I know you don't belong here. You know that too, right? I mean, you know this isn't your world." She spoke without fear.

Watch froze. OK, maybe he wouldn't kill her just yet. "No. This is a crap world. No one's afraid. In my world there are people in chains everywhere…and screams."

"You wanna get back there?" she asked.

Watch nodded. ."

The girl smiled. "So do I. Name's Anya."


	5. An All Too Familiar Face

_Five_

Back at the library, the gang and Bum where trying to figure out what to do. After having hugged Watch for an entire half hour while they talked, Star recovered herself enough to remember to tell them about the spell that Anya had gotten her to do, and what she had seen.

"So it looks like our first step should be getting the other Watch and Anya." Adam said. "We need to ask some questions."

"I wonder if the other Watch has anything to do with time travel?" Bryce said thoughtfully. "Maybe in the future Watch gets turned into a Vampire, and uses the Time Toy to come back to this time for some reason. Maybe to prevent it happening?"

"I wouldn't rule it out," Star said from her spot on the stairs. "But the Watch we saw looked exactly the same age as Watch is now. Also, I don't think him appearing a few hours after I saw that stuff in that spell is a coincidence."

Watch had been staring at her and asked her quietly. "What happened to your arm?"

Star blushed and hid the 4 finger print bruises on her arm from his view. "It's nothing." She muttered.

"It could have been some kind of alternate reality," Sally said. "There are more than one, you know."

"Yeah, but then we're assuming he came out of the Secret Path, and that would mean that it would have nothing to do with the spell." Bryce said.

"Look, we're stabbing in the dark here," Adam said, standing up. "We better look for Anya and find other Watch now, while we know he's at the Cathouse," he sighed. "And before he hurts anyone." He added quietly.

The others stood up and were just leaving when Watch stopped suddenly.

"What?" Adam asked. "We shouldn't waste any more time, Watch, this other…you…he seemed ready to cause some havoc."

"It's…" Watch shook his head. "You guys go ahead I'll catch up."

With that he bolted back inside the library and ran up the stairs where the book cage was, where Bum kept their books, their private books. He was sure he remembered reading something about doppelgangers…

But as he reached the top of the stairs he was grabbed from behind and his arms were held with one strong arm and he had another arm at his neck.

It happened way too fast, even for Watch, and then he was at the mercy of the unidentified attacker. His heart thudded in his chest as he tried in vain to regain use of his arms. He felt pain shoot up them as his attacker tightened his grip and he gasped in surprise.

Then Watch heard a very familiar voice hiss in his ear, breathing coldly on his neck. It was his own.

"Well, well," he heard his own voice mutter. "Look at me. I've turned all _cotton_."

With that the Vampire let go of Watch and hurled him across the room, but Watch managed to stop himself quickly. He faced his counter part and his mouth opened slightly in shock. Then he recovered. "Look at me," he said. "I'm Fonzi."

Smirking, the vampire moved towards Watch, grabbing him again and kneeing him in the stomach. The Vampire was just to fast for Watch – he couldn't do anything to defend himself. As he doubled over in pain, he was at the mercy of the vampire again. Watch had fought with Vampires before. He knew they had the upper hand when it came to speed and reflexes.

Watch had no chance, it was a hopeless fight from the start.

When the vampire was close, Watch glared at him and choked out. "Who are you? What do you want?"

His counterpart grinned madly. "Me? I'm just a mild mannered Irish teenager with peculiar eating habits…and I just wanna play…"

He tied Watch's hands behind his back with a rope which he brought out of the leather jacket's pocket and then grabbed him by the arm and dragged him up from the ground to look him in the eyes. The two identical faces stared at each other, one wearing glasses, one whiter than snow, one full of hate, the other smiling evilly. Two pairs of blazing green eyes.

"What do you really want?" Watch asked the pale face. "What are you doing here?"

Vampire Watch grinned wider. "I was actually hoping you would tell me that." He pushed Watch backwards, who fell, crushing his tied hands. In three seconds Vampire Watch had tied Watch's feet together. "Can't have you escaping now, can we?" he muttered softly.

"You don't want to do this." Watch said, when he caught his breath.

"I don't? Oh but I'm so good at it…" Vampire Watch tightened the bonds painfully tight.

Watch tried to catch the Vampire's eye. This was a long shot but worth it. "Is this what you've become? A carbon copy of Father?" he whispered.

Vampire Watch froze and stared hard at Watch. Watch was pleased. This meant he had the same past as him. This was an advantage. Sort of. He knew he had struck a chord in Vampire Watch. Whether that was a good thing or not…

In one swift move the Vampire brought down his fist hard on Watch's head. Watch felt the pressure on his neck and thought he was going to throw up, his head was going to explode across the library. He only experienced the pain for a few seconds before blacking out and falling limp onto the dusty floor.

When Watch woke up the first thing he was aware of was a pounding pain in his head. More than used to the residual pain of being knocked unconscious, his present situation came rushing back to him. He didn't open his eyes at first, but tried to figure out where he was. He quickly realised he was standing upright. Or he seemed to be. He resisted the urge to groan.

He was leaning against a wall. No.

He was chained to a wall.

Judging by the musty smell in the air, he was still in the library. He could sense another presence in the room which he immediately disregarded as Vampire Watch.

Watch did some quick thinking. As soon as his friends realised he hadn't come back, they would come back to the library…probably shouting his name, alerting Vampire Watch to their presence. Not good. Equally, if they found Anya they would bring her back here, or when they don't find Vampire Watch.

But how long had he been out? How did he know he hadn't already killed his friends? He couldn't be sure of anything. He had to find a way to defeat Vampire Watch himself. And in the meantime, learn as much as he could about him.

He opened his eyes. He was right, he was still in the library, but he discovered a new problem; he didn't have his glasses. He could hardly see a thing. The world was tediously blurred and he squinted in the dark.

"Finally. Thought I'd killed you for a minute there…and what fun would that be?"

Watch faced the direction of the voice, but didn't need to. The black blur was making his way for him anyway, very slowly.

"Let me go." Watch said quietly.

The other Watch laughed. "Come on…you don't think I'm gonna do that do you?"

Watch inclined his head. "Not really, no." he admitted.

Something he else noticed about the Vampire was his voice, his accent. Without a doubt it was Watch's own voice…but it was so different. It sent a shiver down his spine. It was so odd to hear his voice sounding so…laid back, cocky…evil.

He realised he was chained to the wall by his arms and legs, and they were spread out. He couldn't imagine what he was being held by, but he had a feeling he was in the book cage.

The Vampire Watch continued to advance slowly.

"What are you gonna do?" Watch challenged. "Torture me? Kill me?"

The vampire came so close to Watch's face that he could almost see him. He chuckled. "Well…I'm not going to kill you right away. Then it'll be over too fast. You'll be dead and I'll be…well, _bored_." he leaned even closer. "And anyway…I kind of like the idea of there being two of us. Think of what we could do together…if you came to my way of thinking, of course."

Watch shook his head. "Look, no offence or anything, but I'm quite happy playing for the side I'm on. "

Vampire Watch lowered his head in mock hurt. "I'm not that bad am I? Admit it…you would love to know what it's like to be able to hurt, _kill_…to have power over others. I know you would, because I always did, and as much as you don't want to admit it…we are one and the same."

Watch took a shaky breath. "No."

Vampire leaned back slightly. "What do you mean no?"

"No!" Watch snapped. "We are nothing alike." Watch said, his voice becoming angry. "I know, because I have worked my whole life not to become like you."

Vampire Watch laughed. "You spent your whole life not becoming a Vampire?"

Watch shook his head, never breaking eye contact. "No. I spent my whole life not becoming my parents."

This had the effect Watch had been hoping for. Anger flashed through the demon's eyes, making them glow red, and he growled. He struck Watch hard across the face.

Watch drew in a breath, ignoring the pain as best he could, trying to keep the upper hand. "Way to prove me wrong." He muttered, breathing heavily.

Vampire Watch growled again, like an angered lion and he transformed, close enough that Watch could see. Watch saw red and green eyes stare and him and sharp teeth grin at him as the Vampire pushed his head roughly to one side, teeth reaching for neck. Watch braced himself. But Vampire Watch stopped at his neck, he hovered there for a few seconds before opening his mouth and…

Laughed.

He licked the neck lightly.

Watch flinched, expecting teeth to sink in, but they never came, and Vampire Watch chuckled again, and licked the neck again, causing Watch to shiver, and he drew back and transformed back into something that looked like Watch, but the real one knew better. "Very clever. Trying to push my buttons. But you keep forgetting we are the same. I know your mind. And yes, obviously you know mine…I'll have to be careful of this, won't I? _Bro_?"

He laughed and kissed Watch on the forehead before walking away from him. Watch shivered visibly, he couldn't stop it, his neck was freezing where the Vampire had licked him. He fought to control his body and he prepared himself for whatever was going to come next.

Soon enough the Vampire was approaching Watch again, slow as ever, making him wait…but Watch could see he had something in his hand this time. He couldn't see what, but Watch wasn't doubting it was something sharp and deadly.

When the Vampire was about four feet away from Watch he paused for a few seconds. It was the longest moments of Watch's life. There was complete silence, all he could hear was the beating of his own heart. For the first time, he began to fear for himself. What exactly did the Vampire plan to do to him?

Then suddenly Vampire Watch ran forward at Watch, the silver thing held high and soon enough Watch saw it was a knife. His eyes were getting better as the seconds passed. He could see slightly further than he could before. And he saw the butcher knife for what it was almost as soon as the Vampire moved. He saw it aimed for his face and his eyes snapped shut automatically, waiting for the knife to sink into his face, for the familiar pain to wash over him…

Yet it never came.

A second went by…four…

He opened his eyes cautiously to see Vampire Watch still holding the knife between his eyes, grinning madly. He had his left hand on the wall beside Watch's face and his body almost parallel to his exactly as he stood in front of him.

Yet it never came. He opened his eyes cautiously to see Vampire Watch still holding the knife between his eyes, grinning madly. He had his left hand on the wall beside Watch's face and his body almost parallel to his exactly as he stood in front of him.

"Remember that move?" he said softly, as he held the knife steady. "He liked the knife, didn't he? Liked it a lot…it was probably his favourite." In one swift move Vampire Watch brought the knife down on Watch's stomach, ripping open his long black jumper and exposing his pale stomach and chest. Watch was breathing heavily despite himself. He was terrified.

"Look at you…breathing so heavily." The vampire growled. "Breathing is such an annoying necessity. Glad I gave it up."

He smiled insanely again and in one sudden movement raised his free hand to Watch's face, covering his mouth and nose.

Taken by surprise by the sudden lack of oxygen, Watch began to panic, then forced himself to calm down. He wasn't going to kill him right now. Stay calm.

"You should really try it," muttered the vampire cockily, "Work's wonders for the nasty _living_ thing you've got going on…"

Eventually, Watch's chest began to burn, he was desperate for air, but determined not to show it over anything else.

"Imagine…" the vampire said softly, holding his hand firmly. "You would never need to breath, very handy in battle, I'll tell you…great for the lungs…"

Then the vampire fell silent, not moving, and his hand remaining firm and covering Watch's nose and mouth. The minutes ticked past, and Watch began to struggle against his hand, but to no avail, he was just too strong. As the third minute went by Watch began to see spots in front of his eyes and his lids drooped, and just when he felt he couldn't keep them open any longer…

"Hey!" the vampire shouted as he removed his hand. And slapped Watch to snap him back to earth. "No dying, now. Not yet anyway… You've forgotten the rules. Has it really been that long since someone tortured the life out of you?"

The Vampire laughed manically – a cold, shrill screech that Watch couldn't believe he was capable of making. Devoid of humanity, life - everything he had fought to hold on to throughout his hellish years.

Watch gulped in air quickly, in case he tried it again. His chest heaved despite his trying to stop it, and the vampire smirked and examined his stomach once again.

Many of the scars had faded, except for one which was as bold as it ever was, on near his midriff, where they had stabbed him.

The Vampire stopped and stared at that scar in particular. "I remember that one…bloody hurt. But look at this…" he ran a cold finger down Watch's abdomen. "All those scars…all gone…what a shame…"

He brought the knife to the top of Watch's chest. "We have to do something about that…"

He pressed the knife down on Watch's skin slowly. Watch gasped and Vampire Watch stopped again. He was silent for a moment as he stared at the blood oozing through the cut.

Then suddenly he leaned away from Watch once again and Watch released his breath out of his already aching chest, hardly aware he had been holding it.

"You know, I went to see our dear old mum only recently." Vampire Watch said thoughtfully. Watch stared at him. The Vampire spoke as though talking about his last trip to the dentist. "Oh yeah. Me and Star – my Star, not yours, of course – we took a little trip to the Emerald Isle not long ago."

He walked a little bit away from Watch and took off his leather jacket and dropped it to the floor. He chuckled to himself as he returned to Watch. "Quite an appetite, my Star has. Yeah, she must have had almost 20 kids while we were there…and god knows how many adults." He paused again as he leaned on Watch again, looking into his eyes and still smirking, relishing in his counterpart's discomfort.

"Dear old mum, of course," he continued breezily. "She left her to me. Star that is…yeah I confronted her. Asked her why. Never got much out her, though, amidst the screaming…Couldn't find daddy though. Pity, really…Had something especially _for_ him. Oh well, me and mum, we settled some old debts." He looked into Watch's eyes and Watch found himself turning his head to avoid those eyes –his own, but so unbearably evil. The Vampire laughed softly. "Why do you look away, Watch? Are you so ashamed of that feeling you get when you think of her being tortured? That little thrill in your stomach, the leap in your heart?" Watch narrowed his eyes and tried to escape the monster's eyes. "Don't be ashamed of it, embrace it! It is…after all…only human nature. And that's all you are…_human_." He leaned even closer, his face maybe on an inch from Watch's. "Do you want me to tell you about it, Watch? Tell you how I tied her…how she _screamed_…"

"NO!" Watch shouted, turning his head away.

The Vampire gave Watch a very hard look. "You pretend this does nothing for you. What a fool you must take me for, Watch." Watch gritted his teeth. "I know the thought of our dear old mum in complete agony excites you just as much as it excites me because, my brother - and I _hate_ to be the one to tell you this - but that urge for violence and pain was inside me long before I was turned."

Watch was staring at the Vampire, wide eyed, trying to ignore those huge red eyes and the lies coming from that wide mouth…But he was not doing well and it did not help that a very tiny part of him knew that everything the Vampire was saying was true…

"…it was something I was born with. As were you. And you can – and will – deny it, but you know I'm telling the truth. Don't you? You know that you're no better than either of them… If given the chance, you would indulge those urges they gave you."

"You're a liar!" Watch grunted, inside desperate for the Vampire to stop talking. "I can see through you. You're trying to break me but it won't work. I am not them. I will never be anything like them. My past is my past - they are dead to me and I don't give a damn what happens to them."

Vampire Watch looked very amused. "Yes. She's dead to me now, too." He glanced away, as though thoughtful. "Mainly cos I killed and ate her." He looked back at Watch and chuckled.

He brought the knife to Watch again. "Anyway…that's all over now. Of course, in _this_ world she's not dead." A maniacal grin spread on the Vampire's face and he suddenly sounded giddy; like a young child promised their favourite sweet.

"I could do it again." he whispered in realisation. "What do you say Watch? We could do it together? I'd love to see her face when she saw the two of us torture her. And you would too."

Watch was breathing heavily. He disliked like having the Vampire so close to him, it was weird, not to mention just plain scary. "No."

Vampire Watch's eyes narrowed. "Liar." He said softly and he dug the knife into Watch's chest again, but this time dragging it right now his stomach, making on long cut. Then he brought up the knife again and did another line going across it, making a large crooked 'X'. Watch gasped again but said nothing. His head was reeling. His emotions were everywhere…yet the more he tried to control them, the worse they seemed to get. It appeared he was his own worse enemy…quite literally.

"You know what? This knife is just too big and clumpy! How am I ever going to get artistic with this great big thing?" With one swift jab he made another cut on Watch's stomach, then walked away, dropping it on the floor near Watch's feet. Watch let out a shuddering breath, allowing himself to feel the relief that the pain had stopped in his chest…and the thing was far away from him. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down his body and emotions. He fought for control. The vampire was getting to him, and he could not allow that.

He had walked away, looking at the walls, almost as if he was admiring the pictures there from what Watch could see. He stopped when he got to one and took it off the wall. He looked at it for a few seconds then threw it down on the floor. Watch heard the glass smash and winced, but tried to prepare himself for what was to come.

"Much better…" he saw the Vampire crouch down and lift up what he assumed was a shard of glass from the floor. Slowly he approached Watch again, now with a long piece of glass in his right hand. "A lot lighter and smaller." he explained.

He was at Watch's side again in a second, leaning in as he always did. He ripped open the shirt more so that it was hanging on Watch's arms.

"You know what?" Vampire Watch said brightly. "I think we look too much alike. We should define ourselves more, you know? Look," he put his finger on Watch's face where he had two bold scars, crossing each other to make an X. The Vampire then touched his own face where identical scars were. "We even have the same scars…well," he giggled lightly. "maybe you have some new ones now, but still…"

He drew away for a second then came back on Watch in a sudden fury, slashing his stomach and chest with the shard of glass until his torso was completely covered in blood. Watch had his eyes closed and was gritting his teeth hard, just waiting for it to end. The key of torture was never to scream…it drove them on…

His mind was agonised almost more than his battered body. This is what he had become? This is what he had deep inside him? How could he live with himself having this knowledge now? Watch wanted to weep from the pain in his heart, and suddenly the shredded skin of his chest no longer seemed that excruciating.

The vampire stopped just as suddenly as he started. He dropped the piece of glass and it smashed. He stared at Watch's middle hungrily. "Yummy." He muttered. He leaned in on Watch again, his face close to his. He took a breath. The Vampire whispered: "This isn't just torture for you, you know…" he looked Watch in the eyes again. Watch closed his own eyes to get away from those nightmarish green orbs. The Vampire drew his face back slightly. Suddenly he was all business. "I want back to my world. How do I get there?"

Watch allowed the flicker of hope lighten his mind. So he did need him. He was just as clueless as the rest of them. Now he may have a way out…

Watch swallowed. "I don't know." He said honestly, trying to steady his breathing.

Vampire Watch came closer again. He captured Watch's eyes again. "What do you know?"

Watch tried not to shiver as the cold finger stroked his neck, his face only about an inch away from him. Like he was looking in some kind of gruesome mirror. Watch forced himself to think harder and faster than he ever had before.

"I know that you might be here because of a spell." He said, gasping as the Vampire applied pressure to his tender torn skin. As blood flowed from him, the additional pain of the Vampire's weight made him light headed. But just then the Vampire stopped and stood directly in front of Watch.

He cocked his head to the side. "A spell?"

Watch nodded slowly, relieved that the pain has faded, he concentrated fully on the words coming out of his mouth, on his thoughts. "A spell which Star helped cast."

The vampire looked interested. "Star can cast spells in this world?"

Watch nodded.

"She is a witch?"

"Not quite. She's just…practicing."

The evil Watch seemed to think about this for a few seconds. Watch's brain ached from the effort of trying to predict the Vampire's next move, next question. "Tell me more about this spell."

Watch replied carefully. "That's all I know."

"Fine. Tell me where your friends are."

_So he doesn't have them already._ Watch tried hard not to show his happiness in this. "I don't know where they are."

Vampire Watch leaned closer, so their noses were almost touching. "Yes, you do. Tell me."

Watch remained silent except for his ragged breathing.

The Vampire drew back slightly, but remained close. "Oh, come on. Don't go quiet on me now…we've only done _one_ of the five _basic_ torture groups…we've done sharp." He ran a hand down Watch's bloody stomach making him gasp in pain. He licked his now bloody fingers with relish. "…But that still leaves blunt, hot, cold and loud. Got a preference?"

Watch said nothing, staring into the vampire's eyes. He was suddenly filled a sorrow so great he almost felt tears tingle in his own eyes. But he would not allow himself to cry. Not now.

However, he offended the Vampire.

"Fine."

He drew back and punched Watch hard on the face, making his head snap back and hit the wall. He pushed himself away from the wall and Watch's body and went to the far end of the large room, where Watch couldn't see him. Dots and lights flashed in front of Watch's vision as the dark room spun and he felt like he was going to throw up…he kept trying to think about the vampire, trying to prepare himself for whatever it was he was going to have planned for him, but he could no longer even sense the vampire. A rushing noise like a waterfall filled his ears…

When the evil Watch came back he had something in his hands. Watch couldn't see until it was less than two feet away from his face.

The vampire raised the baseball bat high with a grin. "We'll switch to blunt for a while."


	6. The Brink

_Six_

The gang headed straight for the Cathouse, since that was the last place they knew they had seen the other Watch. By the time they got to the Cathouse, Watch had still not caught up, but they didn't give it much thought. At least not until they couldn't find the other Watch at the Cathouse, or anywhere in the area. They asked around and found out that he had been talking to some girl outside the club and they had left together. They all agreed this could only be Anya.

As the hours went on, there was still no sign of Watch, either of them, or Anya.

"We better go back." Star said, her voice edgy.

"Where?" Sally asked.

"The library!" Star replied as is it were obvious. "What if the other Watch had been waiting for him? He might have him right now!"

"I never thought of that," Adam said, with concern in his voice.

"Look, guys, Watch will be fine," Sally said, perhaps trying to convince herself. "He can look after himself."

"Not against a Vampire who's six or seven times stronger and faster and

than him." Bum said wisely.

"But if we just go barging in and the Vampire Watch does have Watch, then won't we just be walking into a trap?" Cindy said.

"She's right," Star said grimly. "We need a plan, weapons. . ."

"All the good weapons are at the library." Sally said in frustration.

"Yeah, we're going to have to go to Watch's house." Bryce said. "That's the only other place we have decent weapons."

"But that will take another hour to get there and back to the library." Sally said. "By that time Watch could be dead. Or worse."

There was a few moments silence.

"It's our only choice." Adam said finally.

The others agreed slowly. They were about to sprint to Watch's house when Star stopped them.

"Anya!" she muttered pointing across the road where Anya was running in the direction of the library. Before any of them could react, Star was across the road and had Anya by the arm.

They were at her side in a second but she had already began her interrogation.

Anya looked at them, no fear in her eyes, almost as if she had been expecting this. "What do you guys want?"

"I just wanted to have a little chat about our spell." Star said lightly, her eyes blazing with power. "About how it managed to bring an evil Vampire version of Watch into our world. Explain. _Now_."

Anya pulled her arm free and smiled. "Well it seemed I brought the wrong thing back from the other dimension…I was hoping for my necklace, but this is a lot more exciting."

"So you didn't plan this?" demanded Adam.

She snorted. "Please. What would I gain by bringing an evil Vampire out of one reality into this one? I just want my necklace back. It's my power source. Without it, I'm just a mortal like you. And I hate it."

They didn't have the time to ponder over this. It wasn't the most unusual thing she could have said – under the circumstances, and considering where they lived.

"Where is the other Watch?" Bryce asked.

Anya's eyes glinted. "How should I know?" she mocked them.

Star snapped. She let out a growl and grabbed Anya by the throat. She pushed her against the wall of the Cathouse and moved her face in inch in front of Anya's. The others were too shocked to react – to help Star or drag her off Anya.

"Listen, you bitch," Star hissed at her, "I don't know what you are and right now I don't give a shit! All I know is it's because of _you_ I had to think that my boyfriend was dead for the worst hour of my life, because of _you_ that his crazy Vampire twin is roaming the streets right now, and if Watch is in any danger or pain right now because of you I swear on everything in the universe that you – will - _pay_."

Despite her position Anya was smiling condescendingly. "Anything happens to me he'll be stuck here forever." She whispered smugly.

Star glared at her threateningly for a few seconds before releasing her hold. "I can hurt you without killing you Anya." She said quietly. "I want answers. You know where the other Watch is. Tell us."

She smiled again. An inhuman smile, like the Vampire Watch's. "Oh, I'd say he'll be at the library by now…having the time of his life."

---------------------------------------------------------

Watch was still chained to the wall, breathing heavily, but finding it harder every minute that passed to drew in any air at all. His head was dropped down at his chest, he no longer had the strength to hold it up, and his black hair fell into his face, hiding most of it. Blood dripped down from several head wounds under his hair and clouded his vision even more. By now he had a black eye and many bruises on his face, but even more on his chest, stomach and arms. He felt sure a few ribs had been broken.

The Vampire was sitting on a table outside the cage, just barely within seeing distance of Watch if he had lifted his head. He was playing distractedly with a stake. He had found it in the same chest he had found all the other little treasures he had had fun with not long ago with Watch.

He jumped off the table and walked up to Watch, standing in front of him. He began walking, and started pacing.

"Do you ever wonder if things would have been different?" he said to Watch, not having to shout, knowing he would hear, speaking softly, thoughtfully. "I mean, what if our Mother and Father had never touched us? What if we had had a normal little childhood. Never known what it was like to be brutally tortured everyday…to wish for nothing more than the sweet bliss of death, only to receive more pain. Never known what it was like to have our innocence taken away from us by the hands of a brutal son of a bitch who got off on an eight-year-old boy more than his wife?" the Vampire paused and spoke lightly. There was no humanity in his voice, but there was pain. "Do you think we'd still be here? You think you would still be chained to this wall?"

Watch said nothing. He heard all right…he just couldn't reply…not even if he had wanted to. Vampire Watch knew he had almost cracked him. He walked up to him, pressed close like always did, and gently removed some hair from Watch's eyes, whispered in his ear.

"Do you believe in fate, Watch?" he whispered. "I don't. After all, I must have done something different from you. Because other than the fact that I'm a Vampire…there's nothing different here." he paused and smiled, almost sadly. He suddenly very gently raised Watch's head so that he was staring his counterpart in the eyes. "Join me." He said softly. "When you do there's no more guilt, no more remorse, no more pain. Just sweet freedom. And the power is amazing. Join me, Watch. You have no idea how feared I am…together we could be the ruler of all the Vampires on the Earth…join me."

"Ripper?" Watch whispered, his throat cracking.

"Yes?" the Vampire drew back to face him, surprised as the use of their old nick-name.

Watch raised him head with effort and looked into the Vampire's eyes. "Go to hell."

The Vampire's eyes glowed in furious anger. And yet for a moment, Watch thought he saw a terrible pain there also. A pain unfamiliar to him…but very alive in the Vampire's eyes.

_What happened to you?_ Watch found himself wondering in his darkened, foggy mind. But it seemed he would never find out.

"You don't know the meaning of hell." The Vampire hissed.

He then transformed, but this time Watch had full view of him…of himself, as a Vampire, and it wasn't an image he ever forgot. He saw green eyes glow red and arch down evilly and teeth that where once normal grow large, crooked and sharp.

"I'm not giving you a choice anymore." Said the demon. "You will join me, and you'll be happy for it. End of the line, bro. And in the end, you won't feel a thing - just the sweet bliss we wanted for so long. In the end you'll be free…I promise."

He lowered his head to Watch's throat, is teeth touching the skin, actually piercing the flesh…

"And I promise…" Watch said with difficulty. "To kill you."

The Vampire stopped at Watch's neck, stiffened. An arrow stuck out of the back of his neck. The Vampire Watch whirled round to see a group of 7 people standing at the top of the stairs, and Star with the crossbow in her hand. He felt himself becoming drowsy and knew at once that the arrow must have had something on it. Before he could react his limbs were going numb.

"Bitch," he muttered and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Star and the others ran over the book cage, all except Bum, who was keeping a hold of Anya. Lights suddenly flooded the upstairs room.

Watch sighed in relief as the blurry image of his friends came close around him. He hung loosely from his bounds, no longer having the will or power to move anymore, feeling confident he would soon be freed and in his friends' capable hands. He continued to breathe heavily and he raised his head for a few seconds to see Star standing in front of him. She was close enough that he could see the tears clinging to her eyes. The pain in her brown eyes made his heart crack. "I'm ok, Star…" he groaned. "No serious damage. Looks worse than it is. I promise."

Star's eyes continued to well. "I can't even kiss you without hurting you," she whispered so quietly that neither Sally nor Bryce who were working at Watch's bonds heard her. Watch did not understand.

"Oh my god, oh my god . . ." Cindy was muttering. Star had passed the crossbow to her and she was holding it over the vampire with shaking arms.

Adam and Bum grabbed the unconscious vampire and moved him outside the cage while they broke the bonds which held their Watch. But they had to break the chains with an axe eventually. When Watch was released he couldn't stand. The second his arms were free, he collapsed, falling forward. Bryce and Adam ducked forward immediately to grab his arms as gently as possible without hurting him. It proved completely futile as Watch still gasped in pain as they touched him but they were able to move him after that. They brought him out of the cage. They dragged the unconscious vampire further inside the book cage and locked it shut, unsure exactly how long the tranquiliser would take to wear off.

"Is he breathing?" Cindy asked.

"Well, no, but Vampires don't tend to do that." Sally said as she closed the door of the cage.

They helped Watch into a chair and he sat down wearily, his hand going up to his punctured neck, only bleeding a little. He was certain the Vampire hadn't been able to actually suck any blood. His friends always had impeccable timing.

And right now they were staring at him in horror and pain.

"I'm OK," he insisted. "It's only some cuts and bruises. Looks worse than it is." He insisted again, though in truth he had not actually had the chance to see quite how bad he looked, but was merely judging by their reactions that he looked like death. He was deeply troubled by what the Vampire had said, although he had tried not to show it. Then he had a thought and he looked up.

Star was grasping his hand lightly, clearly terrified of hurting him more.

"Uhm…how long were you guys there?" he asked her.

Star looked him in the eyes and he saw pain that could only mean one thing. _They heard everything he said…_ A different kind of ache tugged at Watch just then. So they finally knew.

He sighed. "Damnit." he whispered. He knew he couldn't keep it a secret from them forever. What a way for his past to come out.

"I'm so sorry I let this happen," Star was mumbling. "We should never have left you alone with this maniac loose…we should've known…"

"Now's not the time for this," Bum said, looking as distressed as any of them had ever seen him. "Watch, you're still bleeding, we need to bandage you up quickly."

Watch looked down at his chest and saw to his surprise that some of the deeper cuts on his chest and stomach _were_ still bleeding. His ripped jumper was still on him, hanging at his arms, revealing his entire torso, and all the cuts on his sides and back. Of course, blood was also coming from somewhere under his black hair, which could have been serious. He made no protest as Bum cleaned and dressed the wounds but sat staring out, deep in his own thoughts. They had known so little about Watch's past. Now they each felt they knew too much.

There was almost complete silence for ten minutes as Bum dressed Watch's wounds, Watch making no movement except the odd flinch here and there, but he made no complaint. Star held his hand and only had eyes for him while the others shifted uncomfortable, most looking at the sleeping Vampire rather than their injured friend. It pained them to look at him.

Then suddenly Adam broke the silence.

"He's waking up." he said quickly.


	7. Hell Sweet Hell

_Seven_

Watch moved his head slightly so it was facing the cage. Bum left his side and went to stand before the captive.

The vampire opened his eyes with a start. And got up even faster. He was on his feet in less than a second and he brought his fists down on the cage door hard, letting out a low growl.

"That won't do you any good." Bum said. "You won't get out of that cage."

"No?" The vampire cocked his head to the side. "Well I can sure as hell try." He began to kick the cage door and it wobbled dangerously. They were worried he might actually get out of it, even though this very cage had held captive a live werewolf for an entire night. Then suddenly Bum whipped out a cross from behind his back and pressed it to the cage bars. Vampire Watch hissed and back away with his eyes narrowed.

"Now listen to me," Bum said in a strict voice, his eyes burning. "Anya has explained to us that you want to get back to your own dimension, and we're more than willing to get rid of you. We will let you out. We are going to perform a spell to send you back to where you came from, but only if you calm down. If you don't then we'll kill you in that cage. And don't think we'll hesitate."

Vampire Watch was staring at him. "I don't think that of you. You're Bum." He said slowly as he stared at Bum. "Put up a hell of a fight. Broke one of my damn ribs. I killed you." He smiled his twisted smile. "You tasted like chicken."

Cindy made a gagging noise and turned away. Vampire Watch turned his attention on her. "I wouldn't know what you tasted like," he said lightly. "Star had you."

Star suddenly went very pale and Vampire Watch laughed insanely.

"Stop it." Watch said suddenly behind them.

The others turned to face him. He had stood up and was breathing heavily. They watched with worried eyes but made no attempt to stop him as he crossed the room and limped to the cage.

"Be careful Watch." Bum muttered.

Watch didn't seem to hear him. He was staring at the Vampire image of himself trapped in the cage and the Vampire was looking at him straight back. They almost had the same expression.

"You have something to say now?" asked the Vampire lightly. "Weren't saying much a while ago were you?"

"Quit it." Watch said sharply. "Just stop. We're not going help you if you're going to hurt us, or talk like that. It's no big deal to us to just kill you right now. Bum's offer is a good one. You should take it. You could kill us all but it won't get you home."

The Vampire seemed to consider. "How do I know you're not tricking me? How do I know you won't just kill me the second I'm out the cage?"

"If we wanted to kill you, we wouldn't need to let you out the cage to do it." Watch said softly.

The Vampire paused again. Logic only listens to logic, and this was Watch, after all. "Can you really send me back?"

Bum nodded. "We believe so. Anya has told us how the spell works. We should be able to send you back."

"And if you can't?" Vampire Watch challenged quickly.

"Then we'll kill you." Watch said simply.

The Vampire stopped again and then nodded. "Yeah I pretty much had that figured." He growled. "But you realise…" he sent a deadly look towards Sally with the crossbow. "You'll be dead before the arrow leaves the bow."

"Threats aren't really going to work in your favour right now." Watch snapped. "If you want out you'll shut your mouth and keep your fangs to yourself."

Bum moved to the cage door, still holding the cross. "I am going to let you out now, but if you try anything, we will kill you."

"Wait!" Sally said, still shaken. "Are we sure we want to let him out? The word of a Vampire is not exactly honourable."

No one was arguing with her.

But Watch limped forward until he was standing right next to the cage. He slowly reached his hand inside the cage and held it out as if offering a handshake.

"Watch!"

"What are you doing?"

"Don't!"

"Are you crazy?"

They moved towards him. He turned to them sharply. "Don't."

He turned back to the Vampire who was looking at Watch's hand with suspicion. Then very slowly he moved forward until he was right beside it. He stood there for a few seconds and everyone in the room held their breath. Then he reached out and took Watch's hand in a shake.

"You will not, or try to, hurt, or kill anyone in this room." Watch said firmly as he felt the cold hand grasp his.

The Vampire Watch nodded. "I swear."

"You will not try to escape."

"I won't."

"You won't say anything else that you know will hurt anyone here."

"Savvy."

Watch paused. Hearing the old Irish slang brought something home to him and he shared a different kind of look with the vampire. "Savvy." Watch said softly and he slowly let go of the cold dead hand and went back a few steps. "Let him out."

Sally looked like she was going to protest but Watch silenced her with a look. She sighed and picked up Star's crossbow, and held it poised. No one stopped her. The Vampire's threat still hung in the air, but they just hoped it wouldn't come to it…

Bum slowly undid the lock and opened the cage door. He stepped out of the way and made the others do the same. The Vampire stepped out of the cage silently looking very like an aggravated lion but not showing any signs that he was going to attack them. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"OK, Star, Anya, get the spell stuff set up, let's get this over with." Bum said.

The Vampire Watch went over to a far wall and leaned against it with his arms folded, looking bored. Sally covered him still from the other side of the room.

"Right," Star muttered, dragging her eyes away from both Watch's and going over the Anya to start getting the circle ready.

"I am so sick of human's and all their baggage." Anya muttered, laying out crystals. "When I get my powers back you will all cower before me."

"Yeah right," both Watch's muttered in unison, rolling their eyes, the exact same expression on their faces.

Watch went over to the wall where the Vampire was standing, watched closely by almost everyone in the room. He gave them all a look and they all turned away and pretended to be busy with something else.

Watch faced the Vampire and squinted at him. "I need to ask you something." he said in a low voice "What's that?" the Vampire asked.

"Where did you put my glasses?"

The Vampire came very close to laughter as he pointed Watch in the direction of where he had thrown the offensive glasses.

"I always thought I looked better without them." Vampire Watch muttered as Watch put on the glasses with relief.

"Yeah, well maybe as a Vampire you don't need them, but I'm still partially blind." Watch reasoned.

The vampire shrugged. "I offered you a way out."

Watch paused and looked his counterpart in the eye and held his gaze. "Yeah. And I'm sorry you'll never find another way."

Star walked over to them at that moment. "We're ready for you now." she paused as she looked at Vampire Watch. She seemed ambivalent, and had a strangely blank expression. "Sorry that I shot you with an arrow."

The Vampire smiled. It wasn't as warm or human as their Watch's but it was the most human one had shown all night. "Think nothing of it. It's not like my Star didn't impale me with a few things in our life time."

Watch shook his head but a smile was playing at his lips. "I don't think we wanna hear about it."

The Vampire shrugged. "Suit yourself." He said. "But you guys don't know what you're missing."

Star glanced back at their friends briefly. She had seen the other dimension, the conditions in which the vampire had come from, and felt a stab of pain. This boy in front of her would never know the love and compassion Watch had found in his friends. She gave the vampire a compassionate look. "Neither do you." She said softly.

Watch suddenly put his hand on the Vampire's shoulder. "Good luck. Try not to, uh, eat people."

The Vampire smirked again. Then Star suddenly hugged him. The vampire was stiff, and Watch tensed immediately, but then the he smiled again and relaxed.

Star pulled away suddenly. "Hands!"

The vampire continued to smirk and even the real Watch smiled a little.

Before the vampire took his place he took a moment to stare at his counterpart and then the rest of them one by one. "I hope you understand," he growled. "It's in everyone's best interest – especially mine, or believe me I would not still be here - that I go back where I came from without any tragedies. But I hope, and I just can't stress this enough, that I'm extremely clear when I say that I ever see one of you again and I _will_ kill you." He said and smiled brightly.

Unsure exactly how to react to this, the gang said nothing, but Star started moving a bit faster. They all just wanted to get rid of him.

Star, Anya and Vampire Watch formed a circle and Star and Anya started to spell. All the others saw was a very bright flash of light. The next thing the Vampire knew he was back where he remembered. In amongst the fighting and chaos in the old factory. He smiled. Until Bryce grabbed him from behind and Buffy staked him.

"Aw fu - " he moaned before he turned to dust.


	8. The Beginning Of Hell

_Eight_

"So, are we going out tonight?" Sally asked everyone as they walked out of the school. It had been a few days since they had sent the vampire Watch back to his dimension. They stopped outside and all sat around the huge waterfall outside their school.

"Yeah sure." Cindy said. "I still need to find a date since you guys have forbidden me to go out with _what's his face_…"

"Austin Brown." Sally said.

"Thank you, Sally." Cindy glared at her.

"No problem, sweetie." Sally smiled at her.

"How 'bout it guys? Cathouse? I have nothing better to do." Adam said.

"I don't know," Bryce said slowly, eyes on the dispersing crowd of girls that had just walked past. He sighed. "I have a history exam tomorrow. If I don't start studying then I'll fail."

"Wonders never cease," said Watch mildly, almost automatically.

"Haha…" Bryce rolled his eyes, finally dragging them away from the girls.

"You know, I have that History exam too…" Cindy said, worriedly. "I really should prepare more."

"We can study together." Bryce offered automatically, smiling at her.

"Sure." Cindy smiled brightly back.

"Oh brother," Sally rolled her eyes. "I think Cindy's already forgotten all about what's his face. How about the rest of you? Adam? Do you have a critical history test to study for too by any chance?"

"No." Adam replied, though it sounded like he highly regretted it. He turned to where Star and Watch were sitting together. "What about you guys?"

Star shrugged. "I've done all my homework. I've got a free night…Watch?" she asked him. He had been staring into space, not paying full attention to the conversation, responding distractedly. He still had one fading black eye, and a few cuts on his face and neck that they could see. He had done his best to cover them, but couldn't cover them all.

"Huh wha?" he said as Star poked him.

"Cathouse." Adam said. "Can you come out tonight?"

"You know what, I think I'll just stay home and study. Cos of the fun." Watch said with a sad smile.

"Oh come on, Watch." Sally said bracingly. "I know you're all weird about seeing that other evil side of yourself and being tortured by him and having painful childhood memories dragged up and stuff, but that's no reason why you can't live the rest of your life with the same ease you always did."

"Can she cram complex emotions into a nutshell or what?" Bryce said putting an arm around Sally which she shrugged of, but still smiling.

Watch was actually smiling. "Yeah, well can you explain why I suddenly have a great urge to go home, lock the door, never go out again, and die a virgin?"

Bryce scoffed. "I think _that_ ship has sailed."

Watch paused, suddenly remembering what had taken place – the words spoken mainly - in the library…the things he was glad his friends never saw or heard. Maybe he'd tell them all someday. But he doubted it. He sighed. "I just don't want to turn into that, _ever_…I mean I was so evil - slutty, soulless…" he paused again, a weird smile on his lips. "And I think I was kinda gay."

Adam and Bryce snorted with laughter.

"Looked better than you though," Sally said absently.

Watch glared at her.

"What?" she asked and Watch raised an eyebrow. "What? He did!"

The others all started laughing. Even Watch broke down and laughed.

"I suppose he did have something I don't have…" Watch said, still chuckling.

"What?" asked Bryce with a grin. "Taste?"

Watch leaned over and punched him on the shoulder hard. Bryce punched him back in a flash, carefully avoiding any wounds. Once again, this was pretty much ignored by the others.

"I was thinking more along the lines of confidence." Watch said, not giving Bryce the satisfaction of rubbing the spot on his arm which was actually - to Mr. Bond's credit - starting to sting

"Not to mention the fact that he was incredibly horny." said Star, rolling her eyes.

They all laughed and they started to make their way out of the now deserted school grounds.

-End.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Many merci's to my reviewers, though a special mention must be made of Mallory Grier - her excellently detailed reviews helped me to fine-tune this story so I'm the happiest of it I've ever been. Thanks again!

Hurrah, my fic has ended - and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you and goonight.

- Raevyan


End file.
